St Paul's Cathedral is the largest Anglican cathedral in Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. Done in the Gothic style, the cathedral is the See of the Archbishop of Melbourne and head of the Anglican archdiocese in Victoria.
The location of St Paul's Cathedral is quite fortunate, with the Federation Square complex of architecture opposite, and the city's largest railway station, Flinders Street Station, diagonally across the street. Together these buildings form a kind of historic centre of Melbourne.
Since in the 19th century the population of Melbourne consisted mainly of members of the Anglican Church, it was the Church that was given the best site in the city for the construction of the main cathedral. It was not chosen by chance - the first services were held here since the city was founded in 1835. Previously, St James's Cathedral had stood on this site.
The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid in 1880. Englishman William Butterfield was appointed chief architect, but he never visited the site, leading to numerous disputes between the church authorities in Melbourne and the architect, who lived in London. Due to constant disagreements, the construction of the cathedral was delayed, and, finally, was completed by local architect Joseph Reed in 1891. However, the tower and spire were not finally erected until 35 years later! Today, the spire is considered the second tallest in the world among Anglican churches.
When St Paul's Cathedral was completed, it became the tallest building in the city - it was visible from almost anywhere. But in the first half of the 20th century, numerous new buildings, growing like a yeast, surpassed the cathedral in height and blocked the view.
The cathedral is equipped with an organ brought from England, the creation of the famous master T.S. Lewis. This organ, consisting of 6,500 pipes, is one of the largest in the world, made in the 19th century. It was restored in the 1990s at a cost of $726,000.
Interestingly, the sandstone used to build the cathedral was sandstone that was imported from New South Wales, rather than the local limestone that most of the buildings constructed in those years were made of. The sandstone gives the cathedral a warm yellow-brown colour. The tower, on the other hand, was built from a different stone, so its colour is slightly different.
